I see that The Model Railway Club, near Kings Cross, have got a club afternoon (and evening) tomorrow. I am going to visit.
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Excellent, looking forward to hearing about your visit 
Gary
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This weeks update from Heaton Lodge, grab a brew, or favorite tipple, and enjoy.
Gary
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Took a friend who uses a wheelchair a lot of the time to the National Railway Museum in York today. (It’s only 15 miles away.)
steve
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Hi Steve, you picked a great day to go, love the winged oil lamps on Duchess Of Hamilton.
Gary
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Those lamps struck me as very “Spirit Of The Age”.
steve
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Very much agree, to have seen the new Coronation Pacific’s in both red and blue livery plus matching coaches would have been an amazing sight.
Gary
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Nice. A great day out for sure. A revisit to York is on my list sometime soon.
I have a very large soft spot for 4003 Lode Star. I saw her with my father (A GWR trained engineer) in the Swindon works just before she was taken to the Swindon Museum in the early 60s I would have been about 4 and stood on the footplate with him. It is one of my earliest memories. I went to see here again with my father about 10 or so years ago when it was at the Swindon STEAM museum in the old works.
A significant loco and while there are people who would love to see her steam again ( I would too in one way) she was restored for display by the Swindon works and so every nut and bolt and fitting is GWR (BR(W)) made following GWR practice and so is a pristine example of a GWR loco and so unique in that respect and should remain as such.
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What great memories, it must be hard for anyone who’s father or family worked in any of the works to see them now.
Gary
This week’s update from the lodge.
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I look at that and start to wonder, when does a hobby become an obsession. 
Impressive.
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I agree, it’s very impressive, but I think its losing slight of what it started out to be, a model of Heaton Lodge, but at the end of the day, if he’s happy, that all that matters.
Gary
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There may be a few of us on this forum on the other side of that line!
I do watch the Heaton Lodge vids each week. He’s bearing witness to something that existed in his childhood as the every day - BR blue era, coal trains, coal fired power stations - that has gone and is capturing it for himself and for posterity. It’s not dissimilar in that way to the Pendon Museum. I completely understand his focus and perfectionism. I like to think I’d be the same. When he comes to exhibit it, there will be those in the crowd who will still say ‘that mud is the wrong shade of brown!’
I’ll be there when it’s out on the road - I hope the power station chimney and cooling towers are included!
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I may have been a bit harsh in my reply, which wasn’t my intention, I would have liked to have seen his interpretation of Healy Mills, but that’s changed to Toton now, plus the power station, it’s certainly going to be mega impressive and I can’t wait to see it.
Gary
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Nicely done! Yours? 
steve
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Unfortunately not.
Gary
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In these larger gauges you really notice the realism of the track work.
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There’s been lots of developments over the last couple of years regarding track work in all scales especially in 3D printing.
Both photos from Steve Hayfield on the Western Thunder website.
And if anyone wants to plan and build the ultimate UK style track, you need to read and join Templot by Martin Wynne, see screen shot below.
Gary
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Excellent - is that from a kit?
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